Toy gun with downwardly inclined striker spring



Sept. 27, 1966 HlROSHl YANO 3,274,986

TOY GUN WITH DOWNWARDLY INCLINED STRIKER SPRING Filed Aug. 24, 1964 United States Patent 3,274,986 TOY GUN WITH DOWNWARDLY INCLINED STRIKER SPRING Hiroshi Yano, Sekiden Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., No. 2, l-chome, Jinai-cho, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka, Japan Filed Aug. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 391,433 1 Claim. (Cl. 124-27) This invention relates to a toy gun of the type capable of discharging the balls with spring power of a striker spring fixed in the spring chamber and more particularly relates to a toy gun having the striker spring inclined at a certain angle so as to enable it to make straight-forward movement that can accurately and powerfully discharge the balls, thereby enabling the ban to be driven accurately and to a distance.

In general, the toy guns ofthis kind are provided with a striker spring of coil type in the spring chamber located at the back of the discharge bore. Said striker spring is compressed and energized as the trigger is moved backward by the finger, and the moment the trigger reaches its final position and disengages the stopper for striker lever from the striker lever it strikes the ball to discharge by the striker lever with its spring power.

A feature of conventional toy guns of this kind is that the striker spring of coil type provided in the spring chamber has an axis common to the discharge bore. In conventional toy guns having this feature, however, the striker spring tends to make waving or snaking motion when released from being compressed. In consequence, the following drawbacks are indicated: in the first place, spring power of the striker spring is weakened by the frictional contact of the striker spring and the internal wall of the discharge bore; in the second place, as a result of reduction of the spring power, it is difficult for the ball to be driven a distance; in the third place, a trajectory is waved and the hit rate is considerably lowered, and consequently, the shooting play becomes uninteresting.

The present invention has been devised to remove such drawbacks indicated with such conventional toy guns. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved toy gun of the type described, characterized in that a striker spring of coil type provided in the spring chamber is made eccentric or inclined, with respect to an axis of the discharge bore, in the direction that the stopper for striker lever retreats, thereby enabling the striker spring to make straight-forward movement, so that accurate and long-range shooting may be conducted.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved toy gun of the type described, characterized in that the rear end of the striker spring is made eccentric or inclined with respect. to an axis of the spring chamber, thereby enabling the striker spring to make straight-forward movement, so that accurate and longrange shooting may be conducted.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth in the appended claims. This invention itself, both as to its construction and operation together with further features and advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which;

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of an enlarged principal portion of the toy gun shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front view of the principal portion shown in FIGURE 2;

3,274,986 Patented Sept. 27, 1966 ice FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a principal portion of a toy gun embodying another modification of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a front view of the principal portion shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a front view of a principal portion of a conventional toy gun.

Referring now to one embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 3, it will be seen that an axis C of the striker spring 11 is made eccentric or inclined in the downward direction with respect to an axis C of the discharge bore 10 for the ball. One side of the housing of the gun is shown in FIGURE 1, in which the numeral 12 indicates a magazine, and the balls stored in said magazine are fed into the discharge bore 10 through the feed hole 13. The numeral 14 indicates the striker lever mounted in the striker spring 11, said striker lever being permitted forward and backward movement in the discharge bore 10 by means of the striker spring 11. 15 indicates the stopper for striker lever 14, said stopper being formed integrally with the trigger 16 and may be engaged with and disengaged from the striker lever 14. Said trigger 16 has a ball receiver 17 at a portion adjacent to the stopper 15 and is movably mounted in the guide grooves 21, 22, formed by the walls 20 having openings 18, 19, with the guide pins 23, 24, and is elastically supported with a spring 25 at its rear portion. In order to cause the axis C' of the striker spring 11 to be eccentric or to be inclined in the downward direction with respect to the axis C of the discharge bore 10, the wall 27 of the spring chamber 26 has only to be tapered or inclined.

Turning to another embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5, it will be seen that in addition to the structure as illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3, there is another feature, i.e. that the rear portion of the striker spring is made raised with respect to an axis of the spring chamber 26. In the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates the discharge bore and Ca indicates an axis thereof. Cu is an axis of the main portion of the striker spring, and Ca indicates an axis of the rear portion of the striker spring. 27' indicates the wall of the spring chamber 26, and 28 indicates the rear portion of the striker spring.

Turning now to FIGURE 6 which illustrates a conventional toy gun, it will be seen that the discharge bore 10", the spring chamber and the striker spring have a common axis Cb, Cb, and Ch" respectively.

Referring now more particularly to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, it may be seen that the trigger 16 may be moved backward along the guide groove 21 when pulled, and as it is moved backward, the striker lever 14 engaged with the stopper 15 is taken backward to compress and energize the striker spring 11. And then, when the guide pin 24 reaches the rear portion of the guide groove 21 and is stopped there, the trigger 16 may be pivoted counterclockwise by the finger. As the trigger 16 is pivoted, the guide pin 23 being above the opening 19 is lowered through the opening 19, thereby enabling the stopper 15 to be disengaged from the striker lever 14. As the striker lever 14 is disengaged from the stopper 15, then, the ball received by the ball receiver 17 through the feed hole 13 during the backward movement of the trigger 16 is struck to be discharged by the striker lever 14 with spring power of the striker spring 11 in a moment the ball is released from said ball receiver 17 by the pivot turn of the trigger 16. Thus, the ball is discharged out through the discharge bore 10.

With regard to conventional toy guns of the type illustrated in FIGURE 6, it is noted that the head portion of the striker spring will spring up against the internal upper wall of the discharge bore when the striker lever is released from the stopper. This is due to the fact that the head portion of the striker spring is turned to the downward direction by the stopper, together with the striker lever, when the stopper is downwardly lowered, .with the pivot turn of the trigger, and consequently, the downwardly turned head portion of, the striker spring is forced to spring up with its repulsive spring power. It goes without saying that this drawback produces the other drawbacks as stated before and that all the drawbacks result from the structurev present in conventional 03 guns- According to the present invention,however, the fundamental drawback that the head portion of the striker spring 11 is turned or bent to the downward direction has completely been eliminated, and consequently, all the other drawbacks, such as, spring power of the striker spring 11 is weakened; the ball is unable to be driven a distance; a trajectory is waved and the hitrate is considerably lowered, etc., mayalso be eliminated. In other words, with the structures in toy guns of the present invention described and illustrated, it is possible for the striker spring 11 to make straight-forward movement without making any waving or snakingmotion, since the head portion of the striker spring 11 is prevented from turning or bending to, downward direction when the trigger 16 is moved backward and pivoted counterclockwise to compress said striker spring, and its own repulsion does not work in the direction of the internal upper wall of the discharge bore 10, and consequently is prevented not only from impinging against said wall but also making waving or snaking motion.

It may be noted that embodiments ofthe present invention illustrated in FIGURES 1 to make no substantial difference in action and efiect of the invention and may attain the same objects respectively, i.e. both the striker and the stopper for striker lever is retracted to the upward 7 direction, the striker spring has only: to be arranged in a manner as its axis may be inclined to the upward direction with respect to the axis of the discharge bore inorder to obtain the same eflfectas the embodimentsof the present invention. j I t I claim'as' my invention: A toy gun comprising: a housing;

a longitudinal bore in said housing; a spring chamber aligned with the rear end of said bore; 7 a striker coil spring; and means mounting a rearward portion of said spring in said spring chamber and a forward portion of said spring in said bore with the longitudinal axis ofsaid forward portion of said spring inclined downwardly from the longitudinal axis of said bore whereby said forward portion of said spring will move in a straight direction in said bore when expanding from a compressed state.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS.

1,240,987 9/1917 Lefever. 

